Her Dodge Avenger collided with a bus. (Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department)

(Newser)
–
An Indiana mom found a spider on her shoulder at exactly the wrong time—while she was backing out of her driveway on Friday. Authorities say Angela Kipp of Syracuse jumped out of her Dodge Avenger while it was still in gear ... and her 9-year-old son was in the back seat. The boy climbed into the front seat to try and stop the car, but accidentally pressed the gas instead of the brakes, WANE reports.

The car continued in reverse and hit a passing school bus; no children were inside at the time and the driver of the school bus was uninjured. The boy, however, suffered minor head injuries and was transported to the hospital in stable condition, FOX 59 reports.

This woman is irresponsible and she might as well be characterized as an "impaired driver" if this is her response to the unexpected appearance of a spider. However, I will make the comment that you don't always know which spiders are dangerous and how a bite from one can affect you, long-term. When I was a kid, my Uncle John, who lived in a well-developed, residential neighborhood in LA was bitten by a spider while raking some leaves in his backyard. He didn't think much of it at first; this was a non-wooded area of Los Angeles, close to busy streets and with plenty of concrete and not much plant-life or greenery to speak of, save for what one could grow on a small front yard or backyard, most of only 1/2 acre or less. In a matter of minutes, Uncle John's leg swelled to twice its size. My Aunt took him to the E.R., where he remained for a day or two 'til they could reduce the swelling. He was back at the hospital several times over the next 20 years with muscle and nerve problems and sometimes severe pain in the area surrounding the bite. Twice doctors came close to amputating his leg. This was a man who had led an active, healthy life prior to the spider-bite, and every specialist he visited confirmed that the health issues he experienced were a direct result of that encounter. It's unlikely the spider that landed on this mom was truly harmful to her, but even if it was, as parents, we're supposed to be willing to endure the pain of a spider bite - and much more - to keep our children safe from much more serious dangers, like potentially-fatal automobile accidents. As a fellow spider-hater, I empathasize with this mom's emotions at the time, but as a parent and fellow driver, I'm apalled and more than a bit disgusted tbat she allowed her phobia to take control when what was needed at the time for her son's sake was a cool head and rational thinking.